First Kills
by antishock
Summary: No matter what it is, you have to start somewhere when doing something. For a shinobi, that starting point is your first kill. They've all had one, we just don't know the story of it. Now, however, we do. (Drabbles about different characters and their first kills!)


**First Kills**

Maito Gai was a hard worker. Anyone would tell you that. He stayed up all day and night, training his body to perfection. He spent hours punching trees, knocking them over. He ran for as long as he could, sometimes on his hands.

Maito Gai was a shining fellow. He supported others, helped them up when they were down. He always put smiles on people's faces whenever he rambled on about Youth. He was cheerful, no doubt about it.

Maito Gai was a killer. He killed for a living. He bathed in the blood of his enemies and he swam through their entrails. He was a ninja, just like many others. It was his duty to kill.

Every ninja, at one point in their lives, killed someone. He was no different. The way their victim died varied, but in the end the cold, white hand of death touched their enemy.

This is his story. This is his first kill.

* * *

><p>The Third Ninja War was brutal. It broke the record for the highest amount of deaths in a year within a week. It wasn't just adults out there on the battlefields. Kids were sent, too. It didn't start out that way though. First it was just ninjas who were usually above the age of 14. Then Kiri started it. Children were sent out as distractions, and it caused many losses for the other villages. They villages had to fight back, so they did the same as the Mist did.<p>

Konoha was not exempt in this regard. They also did it; they had to do it in order to stay on the top. So they sent kids of various ages. They sent kids who were still in the academy. They sent for kids who didn't want to even be ninjas. They sent kids in the name of the "Will of Fire".

Maito Gai was one such kid.

* * *

><p>His feet smashed into the ground as he ran in a hurry. Sweat poured down his face and worry showed in his eyes. He wasn't going to get there in time! He had to hurry!<p>

Maito Gai was late to school that day.

When he arrived all that could be heard was short pants as he tried to recover his breath. He lived on the outskirts of the town, far away from the academy which sat right in the middle of Konoha. His father was a genin, and as such he couldn't afford to live more closer to the middle of the city. Only the rich were able to afford the houses there, and D plus C-ranked missions didn't bring in enough money to afford such a house. As such, everyday he had to run to the Academy. Normally he would love the work-out, but that was only when he didn't sleep in. He didn't have the benefit of time when such an event occurred.

The black haired boy slowly walked up the steps, groaning as his legs shuddered in pain, and then he opened up the doors to the Academy. However, before he could enter the building, someone tapped him on the shoulders. Gai looked at the perpetrator. It was a tall man in a green vest and a blue head band shining proudly. However, the shine didn't reach the man's face.

"Maito Gai, your presence is requested by the Hokage. Prepare standard supplies after debrief." That man gave him a pitying look before disappearing in a Shunshin with the trademark leaves appearing.

At that second he felt his heart stop. Fear rushed into him and all he wanted was to find a corner and hide there. The Hokage rarely called for Academy students, but when he did it usually came with one thing.

Death.

The Hokage never called for the students at the top. He never called for kids in the middle, the kids who maybe someday, if they tried hard enough, could be something. He only called for the kids at the bottom, the ones who had no hope. The cannon fodder. The ones who could be killed without care. The ones who no one would miss. Matio Gai was the perfect choice. He was the dead last. He failed at everything save the physical section of the school, but those were rare. The Academy mostly taught people on how to use their brain efficiently. The body was meant for a Jounin to train. It was hard for Gai to get good grades because no matter how much fighting sense he had, he wasn't book-smart. And because of that, he would die.

He knew he should have tried harder. He should have read as much as he could to try to stay in the middle. But he didn't. He trained only his body, thinking that would get him past the Academy. That was the wrong choice though, and he knew it, and for his mistake, he would pay. Despite all of his inner turmoil though, he tried to think positive.

At least someone else won't have to die. And with that morbid thought, he left to the Hokage's Tower.

* * *

><p>The Hokage was good at what he did, and Gai knew it. The old man sugar-coated his words, saying that he would be remembered by all, and even if he were to die, they would still honor him. The man said his name would be put on the Memorial Stone if he died. That was not true. He was still in the academy, and only ninjas got their name put on the stone. The Hokage's lie was a good one, and Gai would admit that. After all, he almost fell for it.<p>

The Hokage told him about the Will of Fire, about how it would shine brightly in him as he entered the battle and fought the enemy. His leader told him that he would gain glory by taking down the enemies.

A dead man is not a glorious one. A dead man is nothing but dead. Gone forever.

He smiled though and nodded as what was expected of him. He pretended to agree with the Hokage, and even shouted that he would take down all the enemies by himself. He didn't agree with what he said though, but he continued on.

The Hokage told him about his mission. He was to go to a town that was about to be attacked. He would distract the enemies while a team of Jounin picks off the enemy one by one. Then all of them would come back home immediately.

Gai realized that the Hokage seemed to leave out the fact that only the Jounin would come back home. His dead body would probably not even be recovered. After all, the elites couldn't waste time with such a frivolous task. The best they would do for him would be to burn his body, but even then that was a waste of chakra.

He was told that he would leave the next day at 5:00 a.m. He was to go back home and prepare for his mission for the remainder of his day.

As he left his office, Gai looked into the Hokage's eye. In there, he saw a spark of love, but he saw past it. After all, it was fake. What he found angered him.

The Hokage didn't care if he died or not, but then again, why would he? Gai was nothing. He was weak and pathetic. His death would affect nothing. Gai understood that, but he was still angry at how little his leader cared for him. He however would not try to run away. Konoha was his birth place, and even if he didn't agree with the Hokage, the man was still his leader and he still wanted to protect his birth town.

He closed the door behind him.

* * *

><p>When his father came back home from a mission, Gai didn't bother telling him about what was going to happen. He didn't want to see his dad in pain; he didn't want his dad to have the feeling of knowing that he couldn't do anything at all. So Gai kept quiet.<p>

After his father made dinner, which was just soup, he went into his room and grabbed everything that could be used as a weapon and shoved it into a bag. He looked around for anything else before his eyes found a box. The box was given to every student at the beginning of the Academy. It held weapons that were to only be used in an emergency such as an attack on Konoha.

Gai faintly smiled. _This_, he thought, _I guess is what would be called an emergency._ He dumped out everything in the box before carefully picking them all up and stuffing them in his bag. He then proceeded to grab anything that held any sentimental value to him. He didn't take them with him though. He didn't want his things to be lost forever on his body, out there in the battlefields.

At roughly 9:00 p.m. he fell asleep.

He woke up at four. At first he didn't remember anything from yesterday, but soon reality set in. His face became grim as he remembered the events from yesterday. The fear, the lies, the hate. He remembered it all.

Then he went into denial. He shouldn't be having to do this! He was only seven years old for pete's sake! Shouldn't they send out another dead last who was in a higher grade than him since that person would survive just a little longer?

He began to hyperventilate. He was going to die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.

Then he stopped. An eerie calm took over him. He was going to die, he knew that. Yet for some reason, he felt impartial to it. As if he didn't care anymore. He had given up.

He left for the gates 55 minutes later. His house was near to the northern gates, the most unsafe place in the city due to the fact that it was right next to where the enemy would come through if they ever came. He met up with three other people, all wearing green flak jackets. They all but ignored him. They didn't have to spend their time pitying him. He wasn't worth it. Soon, a fourth Jounin came, just a minute late, and they all set out into the woods.

* * *

><p>After four days of non stop travel, Gai stumbled into the village. The Jounin had been faster than him and they had left him behind as soon as all members were assembled.<p>

_Bastards_, Gai thought. _Now I also have to find them._

So Gai looked. He looked in every crevice, every hole, every shop, every bar, every inn! So he continued and found himself in front of the only place he hadn't searched yet.

The brothel.

Gai entered it as quietly as he could. He heard laughter from someone, but he couldn't tell who's it was. All he could tell was that it was a man's. The Jounins didn't talk to him before, so he didn't know their voices. He snuck past anyone in his away, using what he had been taught in the Academy to get by them. He had almost been caught multiple times, but he finally managed to do it. He peeked around the building before he found the Jounins. They were all laying in either a sofa or a chair with girls dangling off them.

_So these are the elites, _Gai thought. _They are nothing but worthless slobs who aren't even preparing for the battle. From what the Hokage told us, it's going to be tomorrow!_ Gai, despite his anger, didn't go attack the Jounin. He just silently left the brothel, not looking back.

* * *

><p>Gai had slept outside the village in a pile of grass that he had gathered up. He was going to battle today and if he had went to sleep on the ground, his back would be stiff, destroying most of his flexibility.<p>

The attack was coming from Iwa and they were up North, so that was a likely attacking spot. North was also the best place to attack from since it was the residential are of the town. Hostages would be taken from there. But Gai knew better than to think like that. They were probably coming from the South; they most likely went around the village. Either that or they would surround it. With that thought in mind, he left his bed which he had placed in the West side of the city, due to its lowest chance of being attacked, and he left for the south.

On his way there, he bumped into the Jounin. They were all hanging onto each other, dangerously swing from side to side with beers in their hand. One of them took a huge swig from it and they continued on their merry way to who knows where. One of them however turned around and yelled at Gai.

"Oi, kiiid, loos'n, uphh, 'k? Heeere, 'ave a dink!" The man then left the other's arms and came to Gai, holding out his beer bottle.

"Err... I'm underage, sir. I'm not allowed to drink."

"Noo onn wo'ld know! Our o'n scret!" the man jumbled out happily, as if it was the best day in his life.

"I'm sorry sir, but it will affect my battle performance today."

"Theee battleee? Kiiid, youu wooont eeeeven haaave tooo fight! Eeeeveen iiif youuuu haaaaaaveeee toooo, it woooon't eeeeven beee haard! Juuuust goooo aannd diiie!"

_The battle has begun_, Gai thought as he looked at the body of his supposed comrade. _I guess that the other Jounin have been death with already. I'm probably not dead yet because they think that I'm just a civilian of this city._

Gai turned to the South and was amused to see that his guess of where they would attack was correct. Hundreds of soldiers were there. Obviously they were expecting a better defense and not four drunk Jounins.

Gai took a calming breath as he tensed his body. He was going to die one day eventually. He didn't know why but he felt as if he belonged on the battlefield, and because of that he wanted to die on the battlefield.

"Here we go," the bowl-cut boy muttered. He blasted off the ground, pushing chakra into his feet as he did so. He went flying into an Iwa Chunnin, throwing them both to the ground. A split second later he was kicked off of the Chunnin and into the air.

"Wrong choice boy."

The Chunnin appeared above him with a leg high in the air, ready to kick down. Gai just grinned. He had won the first battle. The Chunnin felt confusion at Gai's grin and failed to notice that a fist was going straight for his balls. The man let out a high-pitched scream as he fell back down to earth roughly. Gai managed to turn his fall into a smooth one and gained no new injury.

The other ninjas just laughed at their colleague and teased him on how he was beaten by a civilian. Gai used that as a distraction. He pulled a kunai out of his pouch and jumped towards a man with his kunai sticking outwards. He aimed for the heart and he hit it. The man let out a gasp of disbelief before falling to the ground, already dead. Gai froze on his spot. He had just killed a man, someone who had a family waiting for him back at home. Yet for some reason, Gai didn't feel regretful no matter how much he tried to be. It was just another body that no one would care about.

_When did I stop caring?_ Gai thought.

The other ninja's only took a second to realize what had just happened. Then they converged on him. They started with kicks before he felt the punching. Then they stabbed him with their weapons until his body was riddled with holes.  
>He didn't scream however, nor did he howl in pain. He just laughed. Finally he understood. He understood everything now. Every ninja would eventually stop caring just like the Hokage. They would all go insane like he did.<p>

"This," Gai muttered out in between the stabs, "is very youthful!" It only took a second for chaos to come. Gai's body was a whirlwind and despite his age and small body, he had already killed four people with just his fists.

"Have a youthful death!" Gai shouted as his fist smashed through someone's body. Gai grabbed the heart before squeezing tightly. A second later, the heart exploded. Soon he started to slow down. He was trying his hardest to stay awake even when holes littered his body, yet he couldn't do it. His mind fell asleep for a split second, but it soon awoke as a kunai made it's way to his leg.

"This pain is very... youthful," Gai gasped. He took some time to kill one more person before he started to fall towards the ground.

**_You're just a failure!_**

**_You should be ashamed of yourself!_**

**_Juuuust goooo aannd dieeeee!_**

_No,_ Gai thought. _I won't die here! I will live!_

He focused. He focused as hard as he could, willing himself to fight back harder. Then he felt it. It seemed like a gate, holding something powerful back. He tugged on it, trying to pull it open, but he wasn't strong enough. He didn't give up though. He pulled harder and harder until finally the gate opened up. Chakra swam into him and he felt his muscles start to ache from under the stress. It hurt a lot! Yet he stood against it, waiting until every last bit of chakra gathered in him.

He didn't know what he had just opened but it had made him stronger. Chakra floated around him as he closed his eyes for a second. Gai then slowly opened them before muttering one single word.

"Die."

* * *

><p>A week later he trudged back to Konoha. He ignored the gate guards and went on his way to report to the Hokage. He had survived by himself, he had won by himself. He didn't bother trying to find the bodies of his comrades though. Picking up the bodies would've wasted his time. A frivolous task.<p>

_I won, they lost_, Gai amusingly thought.

**(A/N) Okay guys, who's first kill do you want to see next? Just comment in the review section and the first character mentioned gets to have their story told! Just don't ask for people who already have had their first kills shown in the manga or anime. That means no Haku. We all know that he killed his father -_-**


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